What a sad state of affairs. The Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama for…well it’s not quite clear. They say they are trying “to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now.” I am not sure what that means. Past Nobel laureates include: Theodore Roosevelt, George Marshall (creator of the Marshall Plan), Martin Luther King Jr., Henry Kissinger, Norman Borlaug (inventor of dwarf wheat, a type of wheat that can grow in extremely arid climates), and Mother Teresa.
There was once a time when a person’s actions were what defined him or her in receiving this prize. Now it appears that all one needs are good intentions. The president intends good, but has not really done anything to deserve such an award. It cheapens the award and renders it pointless.
The above listed people were champions of peace AND actually did something to ensure it, whether it was through religious ministry, non-violent protest, diplomacy, or ending famine. The were true leaders. They took upon themselves the mantle of leadership and didn’t do what was always popular. They took tremendous risk in putting themselves out there. Some even died for the causes of peace for which they were fighting.
We should not hand out awards to anyone who “talks a good game,” especially the Nobel Prize. Alfred Nobel wanted this prize to be something special. He expressly said so in his will when he established the prize:
The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall be dealt with in the following way:
The capital shall be invested by my executors in safe securities and shall constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
The prizes for physics and chemistry shall be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical works by Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm; and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my expressed wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, so that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not.
He expressly stated that the prize should be conferred upon “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” This means by one’s actions, not one’s intentions. I would say that if the President were to single-handedly bring an end to hostilities in Afghanistan and actually open meaningful and actual diplomatic relations with Iran, he would be deserving, but just talking about it doesn’t make him deserving. In fact, I am willing to bet that the insurgents in Afghanistan, who don’t have televisions, radios or newspapers, could care less and Iran continues to threaten Israel and the United States, so this award will have none of its intended effect.
Ironically, one of the greatest champions of peace, Mohandas Ghandi, was never awarded the prize, though he was nominated 5 times.
